Cafe Inquiry

This event occurs on the Fourth Tuesday of each month except December.

We will be in Walt Whitman Room. Entrance is on 9th St SE. Elevator access available. Overflow room available in case of higher turnout to ensure all attendees receive adequate opportunities to participate.

Cafe Inquiry is our monthly casual get-together to meet people and discuss topics of science and humanism.

This month's discussion: Tolerating Intolerance

In the spirit of tolerance, how much should we tolerate “intolerance”?

Should an open, tolerant society tolerate all or nearly all things, ideas, and people, including those that thwart the openness or tolerance of others in that society?

Should we tolerate intolerance in the name of religion, for example, female genital mutilation among groups who wish to inflict it on their girl children, or Mormon fundamentalists, who keep women trapped through oppressive economic and reproductive restrictions?

Should we allow pharmacists who are anti-choice not to dispense birth control pills, or companies such as Hobby Lobby to disallow birth control coverage in their employees’ health insurance?

Should we tolerate hate groups, such as neo Nazis or the KKK, that advocate violence and death to other groups? (Note that one hate website, stormfront.org is seen as being connected to almost 100 murders: http://tiny.cc/ixalex.)

Should the head of Firefox have had to resign from his position due to his anti-gay marriage views? To what extent should we tolerate differing views?

How do we determine when free speech crosses the line into “hate speech” or speech that actually visits harms on others?

No outside food or drink allowed. Free and open to the public.

We are also planning to go out for food and/or drinks afterwards.

Interested in leading a discussion or have someone to recommend? Please contact us at dc[at]centerforinquiry.net.

The venue is wheelchair accessible. People with disabilities who anticipate needing accommodations or who have questions about physical access may email sdavis [at] centerforinquiry [dot] net in advance of the event.